


perfect men don't catch colds

by WattStalf



Series: Corrin Ship Week 2017 [6]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Corrin Ship Week, F/M, Fluff, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-10-15 04:35:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10550158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: So there's no way Subaki's sick, right?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt is In Sickness and In Health, I've missed writing Subaki.

Corrin’s husband is perfect. At least, that’s what he would have everyone believe, and she knows that he does his best to appear that way at all times. He can’t stand to have anyone see him performing as less than the best, but occasionally, he lets his wife see his more human side. She loves him, faults and perfections and all, and tries to support his pursuit of absolute perfection while also being the one he can lean on when he feels like he’s failed at something.

There are still times when he tries to hide things from her, however. She’s getting better at telling when something is bothering him, but there are times when even she misses out on the subtle cues that Subaki has something wrong. When he gets sick and she doesn’t even notice until it’s too late, she feels absolutely terrible, and she promises to do whatever she can to make him feel better.

~X~

It isn’t surprising that he would try to hide if he weren’t feeling well. The perfect man would have perfect health and a perfect immune system, and would never fall victim to a simple cold. If anyone knew that he were sick, that would damage his image for sure, and so it’s only natural that he tries to hide it and pretend nothing is wrong. His head feels heavy and it’s taking all of his concentration not to sniff or sneeze near anyone, and if someone calls him out on his voice sounding different, he’s quick with some sort of lie.

He avoids Corrin more than anyone else, because he knows she’ll have him figured out if he gets too close to her. Once he’s better, he’ll spend all sorts of time with her to make up for it, but for now, he’ll do anything to keep his illness a secret. He keeps up his regular training schedule, ignoring the pounding in his head or the thick, heavy way his limbs feel. If he allows himself to slow, he’s afraid he won’t be able to start back up again, and he doesn’t want to fall behind on his own schedule.

It’s cold, despite the sun shining bright and others complaining of the heat, and every time he pauses to shiver, he curses himself and goes back to work, harder than before. The world around him feels fuzzy, somehow, like he’s looking through smudged glass, and every sound he hears seems far away, even though he knows the sound of his naginata striking must be closer than that.

Everything just feels  _ off _ , but Subaki doesn’t allow himself to call it quits until he’s finished his usual training regimen, grateful that there’s no one to see the way he has to sit down on the ground for a moment to stop his head from swimming. There are still more things he has to do, but first, he always stops by his room to make sure he’s cleaned and refreshed, looking as perfect as everyone believes him to be. He hopes that Corrin won’t be there, so that she won’t see him looking less than his best, but his prayers go unanswered.

When he opens the door, she looks up at him, brightening as she says, “Good, you’re back! I was waiting for you, since I haven’t really seen you all day.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” he mumbles, and curses his voice for not sounding as clear as usual.

Immediately, her face grows troubled. “Subaki, are you feeling alright?”

“Of course! I’m feeling perfect!” he lies, but even he isn’t convinced by his voice.

“You don’t look so good,” she says, and he thinks he should feel a pang at her words, but he’s having a hard time feeling much of anything. Corrin sounds so far away, and she looks far away even as she comes closer, holder her hand out. He wants to flinch back before she can feel his forehead, but even though he tells his legs to move, they don’t. All of his thoughts feel so slow, and the room is spinning and he sees spots, and…

He hears Corrin shout, but she sounds a million miles away.

~X~

When Subaki comes to, his head feels no less heavy, and there’s something wet resting against his face. He’s laying down in bed, which he doesn’t remember doing; it takes a moment for his memories to return to him, and when he realizes that he must have fainted, he’s overcome with humiliation. To think, he did something like that! He’s not supposed to get sick at all, much less show such a weak side in front of Corrin.

She notices that he’s awake and says, “Are you feeling any better?”

“I...I’m fine.”

“Please don’t lie to me, Subaki. It’s just the two of us here, okay? I know you’re sick...you’ve been running a huge fever, and I’ve been trying to get it to go down,” she says. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice that you weren’t feeling well sooner! I feel so bad.”

“I didn’t want you to notice,” he replies. “I didn’t...I’m perfect, I’m not supposed to get sick.”

“I’ve never cared if you were perfect or not,” she replies, “but you already know that. I know that you don’t want to show your weaknesses to anyone, but if we’re going to be married, I have to be the exception to that. I don’t want you to end up getting hurt, or worse, because you think you have to hide things from me. You’ve got to trust me, okay?”

“I know…” He closes his eyes with a sigh, too weak to argue wit her. “I feel stupid for getting sick in the first place, and I feel guilty for wanting to hide it from you. I feel so far from perfect right now that it’s killing me…”

Corrin leans down and gently kisses his cheek. “You’re plenty perfect to me. You need to focus on feeling better, and not worry as much about those things.”

“I know, but...it’s hard for me.”

“I know it is. But you’ve got me here to take care of you, and no one else knows about any of this. I’m the only one who knows you got sick.”

“I’d still like it better if you hadn’t seen me like this.”

“I don’t know, I rather like taking care of you,” she says. “I don’t get the opportunity often.”

“I don’t normally need to be taken care of,” he mumbles.

“Just this once, is it alright for me to enjoy the time spent caring for you?”

“If it makes you happy, then I don’t have anything to complain about.”

“Oh! Well, it’s not that you getting sick makes me happy,” she quickly says.

Subaki chuckles, the first time he’s laughed since he began feeling under the weather. “No, no, I understand. And things have worked out nearly perfectly, so...maybe it’s not so bad?”

“I still hope you get better soon,” she says.

“Just make sure you don’t catch whatever I have!” he warns her.

Subaki is supposed to be perfect, and he hates that he’s fallen victim to illness and that he’s shown Corrin his weak side, but she’s always so understanding that it’s easy for him to let his guard down around her even now. If somebody has to see his imperfections, he’s glad that it’s her, and he considers himself very lucky to have her taking care of him. And, of course, he enjoys their closeness even when he feels sick.


End file.
